Beeswax Helps Treat Burns

A human research study was done in 2014-15 to determine the effect of a beeswax, olive oil and Alkanna tinctoria (L.) Tausch mixture on burn injuries: healing, pain during dressing changes and duration of hospital stay. Alkanna tinctoria is another name for Alkanet herb or Dyer’s Alkanet, which is in the borage family.

This study was planned to investigate the effect of a mixture of beeswax, olive oil and A. Tinctoria (L.) Tausch on burn wounds to determine the impact on burn healing, pain during dressing changes and duration of hospital stay.

METHODS:

The study was conducted between May 2014 and August 2015 in the Burn Unit of Ataturk University Research Hospital. The sample of this experimental study consisted of 64 patients (31 experimental group and 33 control group) who met its inclusion criteria. While the specially prepared dressing material was applied to the experimental group, the control group was administered the clinic’s routine dressing. The injuries were photographed before each dressing. Each picture was uploaded to a computer for measurement with ImageJ software…

When a beeswax, olive oil and A. tinctoria (L.) Tausch mixture was applied to second degree burns, this accelerated epithelization, (growth of granulated tissue across a wound) reduced the pain experienced during dressing changes and shortened the hospital stay durations of the patients.

A human research study was done in October of 2017 to test 0.5% Propolis in Lip Balm versus Aciclovir Cream 5% for patients with Herpes sores – fever blisters and cold sores. 189 patients used Propolis Cream and 190 patients were treated with Aciclovir Cream. Application was made five times a day.

Propolis extract lip balm 0.5% was found superior in the treatment of episodes of Herpes labialis over Aciclovir Cream 5% in patients. Encrustation or epithelization of the sores (crusting over, closing up, forming a scab) occurred a day sooner (4 days) with the Propolis Lip Balm. In addition, there were significant faster improvements of the pain, burning, itching, tension and swelling with the propolis lip balm versus the Aciclovir Cream.

June 2018 Days Sale – 15% off total order!

Now until June 30th, 2018!

Now until the end of of June, save on your favorite BEEpothecary products. Propolis Oil and BEE Rescue are great for sunburn treatment and poison ivy. Propolis Tncture and Oil can help recovery from sumer colds. BEE IntenseMoisturizer helps hydrate summer dry skin. Propolis Nose Spray and Throat spray help with summer allergy stuffiness and irritation! BEE Bread is a great pre and post work-out boost whether you are working out at the gym or doing yard work!

Let Us Tell You About Honey Bee Resources

As beekeepers and bee lovers, we love to share about the riches that come from bee hive resources. As a business, BEEpothecary creates artisan batches of health, skin and hair care products made with beehive resources – propolis, honey, pollen and beeswax. We have a particular passion for propolis and have pent several years pouring over scientific research on the use of propolis for health and illness. We have several presentations that we do for beekeeping conferences, honey festivals, individual beekeeper clubs and homesteading/natural living festivals. We offer Power Point programs with demonstrations and sampling of various products and raw materials. We also buy raw propolis (and other hive resources) from other beekeepers by the pound and can provide instructions for how to clean it to prepare for sale.

Our presentations include:

The health benefits of hive resources;

How to collect clean and prepare hive products for use in value added products;

Different forms of hive products that can be marketed;

How to make many different products using bee resources;

The categorizing, production and labeling laws that must be followed to market value added hive products other than honey;

Honey Bees and Beekeeping, for non-beekeepers

Combinations of two or more of these topics in one presentation.

Our speaking charge is $100 for a 45 – 90 min presentation, plus travel costs. (We are willing to negotiate, in some cases, for smaller groups with a limited budget.) We love sharing about the amazing health benefits of hive resources with others! If your club, conference or event is in need of a speaker on any of these topics, please contact us at beepothecary@gmail.com or call 1-450-2339.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

One of the characteristics of propolis is its ability to act as an antioxidant in the body. This means it has the ability to removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism. Oxidative stress occurs when an oxygen molecule splits into single atoms with unpaired electrons, which are called free radicals. This causes damage to cells, proteins and DNA. Free radicals are associated with human disease, including cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and many others. Substances that generate free radicals can be found in the food we eat, the medicines we take, the air we breathe and the water we drink. and include things like fried foods, alcohol, tobacco smoke, pesticides and air pollutants. Scientist are doing research to find out if propolis can be an effective treatment for stopping or slowing down the damage caused by the process of oxidative stress.

One study called, “Effect of propolis flavonoids on Alzheimer disease mice induced by D-galactose,”from 2010,was done in China at Harbin Medical University. The objective of this study was to research the effects of propolis flavonoids on three antioxidant enzymes in cells , two that protect against oxidative damage in the brain and one that increases oxidative damage and plays a role in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

Sixty mice with Alzheimer’s Disease were divided into six groups. Three experimental groups were administrated high,middle and low dosages of propolis flavonoids(300,150,75 mg/kg) ORALLY. After 50 days,the mice were killed and brains were examined. The levels of the two beneficial antioxidants were significantly higher in the experimental groups, while the levels of the destructive enzyme was significantly lower than that of model group. The conclusion drawn from this research is that propolis flavonoids could increase the brain index, promote the body’s antioxidant activity, enhance the clearance of metabolic waste, and inhibit the activity of the destructive enzyme. Therefore propolis flavonoids could protect cells, delay senility and improve Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms.

Another study, “Bioactive Metabolites from Propolis Inhibit Superoxide Anion Radical, Acetylcholinesterase and Phosphodiesterase (PDE4),” from 2013, tested the propolis flavonoids’ free radical scavenging activity. Substances that have this action are considered targets for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease- COPD. Results of this research showed that propolis could moderately inhibit the destructive free radicals tested and could contribute to further research on alternative drugs for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as asthma and COPD.

A study done in early 2017, “The Neuroprotective Effects of Brazilian Green Propolis on Neurodegenerative Damage in Human Neuronal SH-SY5Y Cells” investigated the effects of propolis on oxidative stress in the brain. Oxidative stress and synapse dysfunction are the major neurodegenerative damage correlated to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have found that Brazilian green propolis (propolis) improves the cognitive functions of mild cognitive impairment patients living at high altitude; however, mechanism underlying the effects of propolis is unknown. The results of the study strongly suggest that propolis protects from the neurodegenerative damage in neurons through the properties of various antioxidants. The present study provides a potential molecular mechanism of Brazilian green propolis in prevention of cognitive impairment in AD as well as aging.

These studies seem to indicate that propolis could be an effective part of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. We have to hope that our FDA will someday embrace natural and alternative medicine as successful treatments for disease.

Psalm 103

1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.2 Praise the Lord, my soul,and forget not all his benefits—3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical

We’re not sure why the bees seem to be swarming more this summer, but it is really keeping us busy. We get one to three calls a week from people who need help with a bee swarm in their

yard, or a sudden infestation of bees in some part of their house. My husband Steve, and his side-kick, our son Nate, have become the BEEpothecary BEE Wranglers of Groveport and SE Columbus!

Steve

Nate

Why do they do it? Free bees! When they go out to capture swarms or clear out bees from someone’s wall or garage or eaves, they bring back the bees and add them to a hive body in our bee apiary, and we have a new hive! When a package of bees from the south costs $95, and a small starter nucleus hive costs $125, catching swarms is a great cost saving way to increase our hive numbers! More bees means more honey, propolis, pollen and beeswax!

Steve getting behind a gutter to find the hive.

Swarm high up in our tree. We got this one!

Why do bee hives swarm? It is a natural tendency of bee colonies. In a natural hive in a tree or log, the bee colony will swarm whenever it runs out of room. This is the way bees increase their numbers and their colonies in nature. The queen bee has been kept alive all winter by her worker females creating heat by shivering their bodies in a cluster around her. In the spring when the weather warms up, the queen starts laying eggs again and the worker bees begin collecting pollen and nectar. As the bee population in the hive increases, and more pollen and nectar are brought in, they start running out of room in the hive. If a beekeeper isn’t inspecting their managed hives soon enough, and adding boxes with more space, the hive will do what it is ingrained to do – swarm.

Pheromones given off by the bees direct the colony to start making swarm cells for new queens. These chemical

This swarm flew right out of the nuc box and disappeared! Bummer!

signals cause the scout bees to go out to find a new home and the forager bees to load up their bodies with pollen and honey. Then, one day the queen and half the bees, loaded down with food, leave the hive, create a big tornado like swirl of bees in the air, and eventually land in a tree or bush, usually fairly close at first. They rest there, until the scout bees show them where to go next. This is not good for the beekeeper because it means you have lost half the bees in that hive. Fewer bees mean less honey, pollen and propolis!

If you’re lucky, you see the swarm resting on a tree or busy in your yard, and can go out and capture your own swarm and put them in a new hive set up. But often, they fly away and end up in someone else’s yard, tree or house!

Nate cutting a limb with a swarm

When Steve and Nate go out swarm catching this is how they do it. If the swarm is in a tree or bush, it’s easy – as long as it is not too high up! All they have to do is cut the limb and shake, or just bump the limb and shake it over a “nuc box”. This is a small cardboard box that holds 5 frames of beeswax comb for a nucleus hiv

Sometimes, the queen somehow hangs onto the limb, while the other bees fall off and into the box. When this happens, the bees in the box won’t stay. They fly right back up to the queen on the limb! So sometimes the bumping of the limb as to be done a few times, or a bee brush used gently to try to get all the bees and the queen off the limb and into the box. Once they get the queen in the box, all the other bees will follow her in. They look like a miniature army marching off to war, right into the box.

If the bees have found a little tiny hole to go through to get into the eaves or the wall of someones house, it becomes a more difficult job and usually there is a charge involved for doing the

Loose bricks in historic home – an invitation for bees to build a nest!

extraction. This usually requires a ladder, tools and the removal of part of the house – fascia board,

Bee hive in the wall behind the bricks.

gutter, soffit or sometimes even cutting out wallboard inside the house. And if the bees are inside the house, they have already started building beeswax comb and bringing in pollen and nectar. The queen is already laying eggs. So all this must be cut out. A lot of work, but good for us, because Steve and Nate bring home not just the queen and the bees, but also the new comb and larvae already laid. This goes into a new hive set up in our apiary. We rubber band the oddly shaped beeswax comb into the wooden frames in the hive box.

Most exterminators these days don’t want to mess with extracting bees. First of all, they know the bees are important and need to be saved, not exterminated. But secondly, killing the bees is only part of the job. If you don’t remove the wax comb full of nectar and pollen and larvae, it will decay, and smell and eventually

Bee hive behind fascia board and gutter.

seep through the wall board into the house! Exterminators don’t want to

Nate getting a bee hive way up high behind gutter.

deal with that!

So, if you see a swarm, or you end up with an infestation in your home, don’t hesitate to call the BEEpothecary BEE Wranglers! 614-450-2339.

Steve digging out another fascia board infestation.

Getting the bees in the nuc box.

Making sure he’s got them all.

Psalm 104:

27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.28 When you give it to them,they gather it up;when you open your hand,they are satisfied with good things.29 When you hide your face,they are terrified;when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.30 When you send your Spirit, they are created,and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;may the Lord rejoice in his works—

32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

We’ve been sharing some customer stories and pictures for several years at fairs and festivals, telling about their successes using propolis on wounds. Though the pictures can be found on our Facebook page, it recently occurred to me that we have never shared them on this blog, where you can see the pictures AND read the story. So, today, I am going to do this and here is a warning:

IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT WOUND PICTURES, THEN SKIP THIS BLOG ENTRY. DO NOT SCROLL DOWN ANY FURTHER!

Now that you have been forewarned, if you want to see and hear about some amazing success stories about the Power of Propolis, keep reading.

Customer Story #1

Laurie heard on FaceBook about an old high school friend who had undergone elbow surgery and was having difficulty getting the little 2″ wound to heal. It had been 2 months since the surgery, the doctors had tried all kinds of treatments, yet the wound was still gaping open and weeping. This fellow, a law enforcement officer, was using up all his sick leave. Laurie sent him a tube of our BEE Rescue to try. He took pictures for us to document what happened.

2 month old elbow surgical wound

This is what his wound looked like after 2 months of treatment by his doctors, trying to get this to close up.

Wound had closed up after five days of using BEE Rescue Cream.

He got the BEE Rescue and started using it, applying three times a day. He was able to go back to work at this point.

Wound after one moth of treatment with BEE Rescue

He continued using the BEE Rescue Cream and took this picture after one month. He said he continued to use the BEE Rescue Cream after this and said it diminished the scar into a almost indiscernible line.

Customer Story #2

Larry, a 60 something diabetic was working on his running lawnmower one day a few summers ago, when he fell over it. he gashed his calf open and had to be rushed to the ER. He received 20+ stitches. Three weeks later, he called and asked for BEE Rescue. At this point, his wound was black, oozing infection and gangrenous. It was strongly recommended that he go to the hospital, but he refused. He stated he was going to use the propolis cream. He also volunteered to have his wife take a picture each week to document his progress.

Larry’s leg wound 3 weeks after falling over a running lawnmower

This is what his wound looked like before he started using BEE Rescue Cream.

Larry’s wound after one week of twice a day BEE Rescue Cream dressing.

Larry had his wife put BEE Rescue Cream on his wound twice a day an re-bandage it. This is the result, after one week! All the gangrenous tissue is gone.
The infection is gone and a soft scab is starting to form. AMAZING! And look at the skin around the wound. It looks better, too.

Larry’s leg after 4 weeks with BEE Rescue put on 2 times a day.

They continued to put BEE Rescue Cream on the wound twice a day.

Pretty amazing transformation using BEE Rescue Cream for 10 weeks.

And here it is after 10 weeks, with twice a day Bee Rescue Cream treatment.

Customer #3

A young couple bought BEE Rescue from us at a festival a few years ago. They used it on their chickens, on pecking wounds. Here are the before and after pictures, 5 days apart.